Frank Rich on the character of Larry Summers

In today's NYT, Frank Rich is reminding us of the sordid background of one of the architects of Barack Obama's economic recovery program. These are sad times, indeed.

Lawrence Summers, the president’s chief economic adviser, made $5.2 million in 2008 from a hedge fund, D. E. Shaw, for a one-day-a-week job. He also earned $2.7 million in speaking fees from the likes of Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

[P]erhaps I’ve become numb to the perennial and bipartisan revolving-door incestuousness of Washington and Wall Street.

That the highly paid leader of arguably America’s most esteemed educational institution [Harvard]would simultaneously freelance as a hedge-fund guy might stand as a symbol for the values of our time.

Continue ReadingFrank Rich on the character of Larry Summers

Rush Limbaugh IS a “Brainwashed Nazi.”

I’ve long subscribed to a rule which says that in political discourse whichever side calls the other side a “Nazi” first loses. The “Nazi rule” means that if you use it, you lose it. The “Nazi rule” holds true almost universally. I say “almost” because the one calling the other a “Nazi” first loses unless the first one using the term “Nazi” has it right. Recently, a caller on Rush Limbaugh’s show identified himself as a Republican voter, a veteran and opposed to torture and blamed Rush and his ilk for the recent electoral woes of the Republican Party. The caller, ”Charles from Chicago”, called out Limbaugh for his support of torture and blamed Limbaugh and others which supported torture for why the American people have left the GOP in droves. Rush begged to differ and Charles called Rush a “brainwashed Nazi.” Rush blamed people like Charles for the Obama win, and didn’t stop there but, called Charles “ignorant” among other things. First, “Brainwashed” is the intensive forced indoctrination of new beliefs to have them supplant old beliefs.

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United States no longer a “Christian” nation

According to Barack Obama, who is a reader and student of reputable history books, the United States is not a "Christian nation." As he spoke these words, I imagined great sorrow being exhaled from coast to coast. Those sad revisionists need to go read reputable history books and review the founding documents of the United States.

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Bank Regulator William K. Black: The best way to rob a bank is to own one.

I’ve often had the thought that our massive meltdown could be figured out if we could only recruit some intelligent and well-motivated people to gather and analyze the evidence. But who would those people be? Who could serve as the template the type of character we seek out in such people? Too bad we don't have 1,000 people like William K. Black. Black is the former senior regulator who cracked down on financial institutions during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, pointing fingers at five congressmen including John McCain. Black went about his work with such vigor that he even drew a death threat from Charles Keating. Have you ever gotten excited listening to anyone talking about the economy? In this breath-taking interview with Bill Moyers, Black offers his own carefully studied analysis regarding the "bailout." This is not the intentionally abstruse financial jargon that you usually hear when pundits discuss the meltdown. The theme of the Black’s interview is this: "The best way to rob a bank is to own one," which is also the title to a book he wrote in 2005. Black teaches economics and law at the University of Missouri — Kansas City (UMKC). He was the Executive Director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007. This video is required viewing for anyone who is convinced that we are not getting the straight scoop from the corporate media or from our government.

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Jeffrey Sachs trashes the Geithner-Summers plan

Economist Jeffrey Sachs has trashed the Geithner-Summers plan.

Two weeks ago, I posted an article showing how the Geithner-Summers banking plan could potentially and unnecessarily transfer hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth from taxpayers to banks. The same basic arithmetic was later described by Joseph Stiglitz in the New York Times (April 1) and by Peyton Young in the Financial Times (April 1). In fact, the situation is even potentially more disastrous than we wrote. Insiders can easily game the system created by Geithner and Summers to cost up to a trillion dollars or more to the taxpayers.

Credible experts from every direction are trashing the Geithner-Summers plan. And for good reason. The "plan" is opaque and its foundation consists of "hide the ball," "trust us" and too much "business as usual" by too many too big corporations whose main function is to game the system, rather than creating necessary goods and services to Americans. Barack Obama has been getting terrible advice from his economic team, I believe. It's time to switch teams. More to come . . .

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